*                 Today in Black History - April 5                *

1839 - Robert Smalls is born into slavery in Beaufort, South 
	Carolina. He will become a Civil War hero by sailing an 
	armed Confederate steamer out of Charleston Harbor and 
	presenting it to the Union Navy.  He will later become a 
	three-term congressman from his state.

1856 - Booker Taliaferro Washington is born a slave near Hale's 
	Ford, Virginia.  He will become a world reknown educator, 
	founder of Tuskegee Institute.  He will become one of the 
	most famous African American educators and leaders of the 
	19th century. His message of acquiring practical skills and
	emphasizing self-help over political rights will be popular 
	among whites and segments of the African American community.
	His 1901 autobiography, "Up From Slavery", which details his
	rise to success despite numerous obstacles, will become a 
	best-seller and further enhances his public image as a 
	self-made man. As popular as he will be in some circles, 
	Washington will be aggressively opposed by critics such as 
	W.E.B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. He will join the 
	ancestors on November 14, 1915.  He will become the first 
	African American to be honored on a U.S. postage stamp.

1879 - Charles W. Follis is born in Cloverdale, Virginia.  He is the
	first African American to play professional football. He 
	will play halfback for the Blues of Shelby, Ohio in 1904.  
	The Blues were part of the American Professional Football 
	League, a forerunner of the National Football League.

1915 - Jess Willard defeats Jack Johnson for the heavyweight boxing
	crown in twenty three rounds.

1934 - Stanley Turrentine is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He 
	will become a jazz saxophonist and in 1953, will replace the 
	famed John Coltrane in the popular big band of Earl Bostic. 
	After a three-year army stint, which affords him his only 
	formal musical training, Turrentine comes to prominence on 
	the New York Jazz scene as a member of Max Roach's group 
	in 1959.  Over the years, Turrentine's recordings will 
	combine musical energies with friends such as Ron Carter, 
	Roland Hanna, Ray Charles, Freddie Hubbard, Jon Hendricks, 
	George Benson, Cedar Walton, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Burrell, 
	Milt Jackson, Joe Sample, Shirley Scott, Jimmy Smith, Grady 
	Tate, and many others.  He will be nominated for the Grammy 
	Award four times.

1937 - Colin Powell is born in New York City. He will become a 
	highly decorated Army officer, receiving the Bronze Star and
	Purple Heart during the Vietnam War, and will be later 
	promoted to four-star general in 1988. He will become the 
	first African American to serve as the Chairman of the Joint 
	Chiefs of Staff for the U.S. Armed Forces.

1956 - Booker T. Washington becomes the only African American 
	honored twice on a U.S. postage stamp. To commemorate the 
	centennial of his birth, the U.S. Postal Service issues a 
	stamp depicting the cabin where he was born.

1967 - Philadelphia '76er Wilt Chamberlain sets a NBA record of 41
	rebounds in a single game.

1976 - FBI documents, released in response to a freedom of 
	information suit, reveal that the government mounted an 
	intensive campaign against civil rights organizations in the 
	sixties.  In a letter dated August 25, 1967, the FBI said 
	the government operation, called COINTELPRO, was designed 
	"to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit or otherwise 
	neutralize the activities of Black nationalists, hate-type 
	groups, their leadership, spokesmen, membership and 
	supporters, and to counter their propensity for violence and
	civil disorders." A later telegram specifically named the 
	Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Southern 
	Christian Leadership Conference as organizations having 
	"radical and violence prone leaders, members and followers."

1977 - Gertrude Downing receives a patent for the corner cleaner 
 	attachment.

1984 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain's all-time career
	scoring record of 31,419 points (31,421).

1990 - Seven African American journalists are inducted into the 
	newly created Hall of Fame of the National Association of 
	Black Journalists in Washington, DC.  Dubbed "pioneers of 
	mainstream journalism," the inductees include Dorothy Butler
	Gilliam of the Washington Post, Malvin R. Goode of ABC 
	News, Mal H. Johnson of Cox Broadcasting, Gordon Parks of 
	Life Magazine, Ted Poston of the New York Post, Norma 
	Quarles of Cable News Network, and Carl T. Rowan of King 
	Features Syndicate.  Twelve Pulitzer Prize winners are also 
	honored at the awards ceremonies.

2000 - Ending a two-year investigation, an independent counsel clears
	Labor Secretary Alexis Herman of allegations that she had 
	solicited $ 250,000 in illegal campaign contributions.

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